A Circular Sector-Shaped Dipole Antenna with Meandered Arms and Added Ferrite-Loaded Artificial Magnetic Conductor

Abstract

A circular sector-shaped dipole antenna with meandered arms based on an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) is proposed in this study. A compact unit cell of the AMC operating within 19–485 MHz is designed using a ferrite material, which exhibits high-permeability characteristics in the high-frequency (HF), very-high-frequency (VHF), and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) bands. The configuration of the meandered arms is optimally designed using a binary genetic algorithm, so that the antenna combined with the AMC meets the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) specification of 3.5:1 or less within the HF, VHF, and UHF bands. The proposed antenna with the AMC is fabricated and measured. The measured VSWR frequency bandwidth (3.5:1 or less) is 25.8:1 (14–361 MHz), and the measured result matches with the simulated result well. Furthermore, to verify the performance of the proposed antenna with the AMC, the measured received power results are compared with a commercial reference antenna operating in HF, VHF, and UHF bands.